High Protein

I know it has been a long time since I’ve done a blog post. Working 50-60 hours a week makes it hard to find time to blog, or do much of anything.

So finally here is a tasty chicken recipe, quick enough to be made on weeknights. Next I will need to be planning all the holiday food: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and Christmas cookies! I’ll probably need to run a marathon every week…

But anyways, back to the chicken. This Cheezy Cheez-it Chicken is similar to my Pepperoni Pizza Chicken, but has a completely different taste because the marinara and mozzarella are replaced with ranch dressing and colby cheese.

It all starts with a beautiful, crunchy crust of Cheez-it crackers. You can use any of the cheese flavors – cheddar, white cheddar, parmesan, four cheese, etc.

I didn’t want this chicken to be too dry, which is why I added the ranch dressing. The ranch adds a nice punch of flavor. I prefer Ken’s, but use whichever brand you like best.

Since we have cheese cracker coating, it is only fitting that we add some cheese on top. I used a colby-monterey jack blend, but cheddar would be good too.

No need to transfer the chicken to the oven or broiler. I just let the cheese melt in the pan over low heat for a few minutes. If you’re looking for a new chicken recipe, give this one a try. It is relatively quick and easy and has lots of flavor.

Directions

If using chicken breasts, slice the breasts horizontally and flatten them to the desired thickness (if using chicken cutlets, skip this step). Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Next, dip the chicken in the beaten egg mixed with water. Finally, dip both sides of the chicken in the crushed Cheez-it cracker crumbs (the finer your crumbs, the better they will stick). Let the coated chicken rest while preparing pan.

Heat 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet. Cook the chicken on each side until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Make sure the first side is fully-browned and crispy before you flip it to the other side (this will make sure your coating stays adhered). Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking chicken on both sides until cooked through, about 10 minutes per side.

Pour 1 or 2 Tb of ranch dressing on each chicken cutlet. Then top with the shredded cheese. Let the chicken stay in the pan over low heat for a few minutes until the cheese starts to melt, then serve.

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This delicious shrimp can be made in just 15 minutes! Perfect for a weeknight, or any time. The spicy garlic butter sauce is so flavorful, you’d want to lick it right out of the pan.

Fresh shrimp are the best, but if you can’t get fresh shrimp, frozen can be used. Today I used frozen shrimp, beautifully seasoned. If you don’t like spicy food, you can reduce the amount of cajun seasoning, or eliminate it completely. Different brands of cajun seasoning have different levels of heat as well. Louisiana brand is very spicy. My personal favorite is McCormick Gourmet.

Butter and 10 minutes in the pan is all it takes to cook this delicious dish.

Make sure you cook the shrimp long enough that they turn pink and all the water cooks out. The butter sauce should become thick and sticky.

Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs peeled shrimp, fresh or frozen

3 Tb butter

1 green onion, sliced

2 ts cajun seasoning

1 ts minced garlic

1/2 ts dried minced onion

1/2 ts paprika

1/2 ts season salt

Directions

1. If using frozen shrimp, thaw first. Place shrimp in a large bowl. Sprinkle sliced green onion, cajun seasoning, garlic, minced onion, paprika, and season salt all over shrimp. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

2. Heat 3 Tb of butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add shrimp and seasonings. Cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes, until shrimp turn pink, water is cooked out, and butter starts to thicken. Reduce heat to low and cook another 2 minutes, until butter is thick and sticky.

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Chicken: one of the most versatile and economical of the meats. So it’s only fitting the first post of ninety-nine of ninety-nine is chicken.

Pepperoni Pizza Chicken has tender chicken in the middle, coated by a tasty, crunchy crust made of crushed Cheez-it crackers, and topped with sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni to imbue an over-all amazing taste of pepperoni pizza. Look at this amazing, cheesy, goodness.

First, slice your chicken horizontally (or you can use chicken cutlets) and pound to your desired thickness. Prepare Cheez-it crumbs by processing them in a food processor or crushing them in a bag with a rolling pin. The finer you make your crumbs, the better they will stick to the chicken. I really wanted to use Pizza flavored Cheez-its for this recipe, but my store didn’t have them at the time (so disappointed!), so I used Pepper Jack, which still tasted amazing. Make an assembly line of the flour, egg, and cracker crumbs. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour, then dip in egg, then coat each side with the crushed Cheez-its. Let your chicken rest for a few minutes while heating the butter and olive oil in a cast iron pan (this will help the coating stick to the chicken). Here is my coated chicken resting – doesn’t it look beautiful?

This dish is best cooked in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron cooks the chicken evenly, makes a wonderful crunchy crust, and can be placed directly in the oven to broil the cheese. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can transfer the chicken to another pan to put under the broiler, or simply leave the cheese covered chicken in your pan for several minutes on low heat to melt the cheese.

I only added a small amount of sauce because I didn’t want it to over-take the rest of the taste. A light smear across the top of the chicken sprinkled with basil adds just the right amount of pizza taste.

Finally, the mozzarella and pepperoni are added and the whole thing is popped in the oven under the broiler to melt the cheese. My family loved this chicken dish and I hope yours will too.

Pepperoni Pizza Chicken

Tender chicken with a crunchy Cheez-it crust, topped with marinara, mozzarella, and pepperoni.

Calories per serving = 453

Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or cutlets

1 Tb butter

1 Tb olive oil

1/2 cup flour

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tb water

salt & pepper

2 cups crushed Cheez-it crackers, pizza or pepper jack flavor

4 Tb spaghetti or marinara sauce

1/4 ts basil

4 slices mozzarella

8 slices pepperoni

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions

If using chicken breast, slice horizontally and flatten to desired thickness (if using chicken cutlets, skip this step). Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Next, dip the chicken in beaten egg mixed with 1 Tb of water. Finally, dip both sides of the chicken in the crushed Cheez-it cracker crumbs. Let coated chicken rest while preparing pan.

Heat 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet. Cook chicken on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking chicken on both sides until cooked through, about 10 minutes per side.

Slather the top of each piece of chicken with 1 Tb of marinara sauce. Sprinkle basil on top. Lay one slice of mozzarella on each followed by two pieces of pepperoni, and a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella. Transfer the cast iron skillet to oven under broiler on high. Broil until cheese is melted and slightly browned, 2-3 minutes.